Off the Coast of Carolina
by NCCJFAN
Summary: SEQUEL TO ARSENIC AND SOUTHERN GRACE: The need for a new ME with underwater body retrieval experience sends Garrett on a search in North Carolina. Dr. Lynn Howerton answers the call...but maybe she's more than Garrett expected.
1. A Diving ME Needed

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything to do with Crossing Jordan. Never have, probably never will. I do own a 1964.5 red Mustang convertible, white leather interior, white top. I picture Garrett driving such a car. **

**Garrett...a man with a tortured past. So much is written about Woody/Jordan, Devan (Grrr.....) and Nigel, that I feel he gets neglected. So this story is about Garrett, mainly.**

**And if you're wondering about some of the other characters in here...Stevie, Katie, Kathy Leland....read _Arsenic and Southern Grace_ first. That should clear things up a bit.**

**Oh, and I didn't write the lyrics to _Off the Coast of Carolina_, either. That credit goes to the great and wonderful Jimmy Buffett. If you've never been to a Buffett concert, put that on your to do list before you die....drink some Captain Morgan, put on a Hawaii shirt, and become a parrot head for a couple of hours. It will do your soul good.**

_From the bottom of my heart_

_Off the coast of Carolina_

_After one or two false starts_

_I believe we found our stride_

_And the walls that won't come down_

_We can decorate or climb or find someway to get around_

'_Cause I'm still on your side_

_From the bottom of my heart._

**Chapter One**

"Remind me why we are here again," Nigel said to Garrett, as they circulated around the singularly boring medical examiners and coroners convention.

"Networking, Nige, networking," Garrett said, nodding to a few acquaintances.

"Why?" asked Nigel, taking a beer from one of the passing waiters.

"I need another ME," answered Garrett, craning his neck to see over the top of the crowd.

Nigel swallowed hard. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"You mean is someone about to lose their job?" Garrett said, smiling at the nervous man. "No. But Devan and Peter have left. That's two short. And I don't need to remind you that your lovely wife, Stevie, is very pregnant with your son. I know she doesn't want to come back full time for a while and I don't blame her. So I need a new ME."

"And you're going to find one here?"

"Maybe."

"But these folks have lots of experience. They'll cost more than someone on a residency or fresh out of med school."

"I know...but, I can combine Devan's and Peter's salaries and afford to hire someone with lots of experience and hopefully a background in diving."

"Diving?"

"Yeah, underwater body retrieval. There's been several times we've needed someone with that experience in the past couple of years and had to wait on the PD or Navy. We need our own diver."

Nigel nodded. He understood that part. But to find a good, really good ME that also had underwater body retrieval experience....he wasn't sure how plausible that would be.

"Oh... look....there's Kathy Leland," said Garrett. "Kathy!" he called to the woman and waved.

Kathy made her way over to Garrett and hugged him. "How are you? I haven't seen you in forever. Boston holding you captive? And Nigel—how wonderful to see you, too. Are you taking care of my Stevie? How's she doing? And Katie....Stevie sent me her last school picture. Lord, she's growing like a weed! And in second grade already..."

Nigel hugged the woman. Kathy had been Stevie's boss and friend when Stevie worked as an ME in North Carolina three years ago. Stevie had come to Boston to help them with a round of arsenic deaths. She and Nigel had fallen in love, and that was that. Within six months they were married, and Stevie, along with her daughter, Katie, had relocated to Boston. Now Stevie was six months pregnant with their first child together – a son. "Stevie's fine...getting bigger everyday. Glowing....Katie's so excited. And I'm...I'm....."

"Overwhelmed?" she asked.

"Yeah."

Kathy laughed. "What about you, Garrett? You never come to these conventions...always send your staff. What brings you here? God knows it can't be the speakers....these things are as boring as hell."

Garrett grinned back at the woman. He wished he could hire Kathy, but she was chief ME for the state of North Carolina. She wasn't going anywhere. "I'm trolling for an ME, Kathy. I need to hire."

"Any specifications?"

"I can afford to pay for experience....so I want someone that has a good background in field work, is a team player, and is strong in trace and regular forensics."

"That shouldn't be too hard to find."

"And I need them to know something about underwater retrieval."

"A diver?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmmm. That does make it a little harder. But I believe I can help you. You going straight back to Boston after this convention in Nevada?"

"Nigel is...Stevie's beginning to be nervous with him out of sight for too long. I don't necessarily have to go right back."

"Can you come with me to Wilmington?"

"You know an ME in Wilmington? I thought all your ME's were in Chapel Hill."

"Not this one. She stays at the coast. She's done a lot of underwater retrieval...very good at her job?"

"So what would make her leave her home port?"

"I think she's at a point in her life where I believe she would be willing to relocate...start over...embrace new challenges."

"What makes you say that?"

Kathy laughed. "I've know this ME since she came out of residency. We go back a long way. Let's just say life's thrown her a couple of really bad, fast, curve balls recently and she's ready to go into the outfield for a while."

* * *

"Yo, Jake.....what's up with this?" Dr. Lynn Howerton asked, holding up a spent shell casing.

"Did we over look that? Sorry doc," the young detective said.

Lynn shook her head....youth and inexperience. A lethal combination in any circumstances. She sighed. Some days she felt like she was training the rookies. She completed her initial field work and ordered the body to be loaded in the van and taken to the morgue. It had been a slow week...only two bodies and it was Thursday. Of course it was February and tourists were scarce in this North Carolina fishing town. Give it a few months and she'd be covered over.

Not that she would mind. Work would keep her busy....stop her from thinking so much. She pushed a blonde hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. Her hair was getting too long again. She'd need to call Terry this afternoon and schedule a cut.

She returned to her morgue and began the autopsy on the victim that was found in the park. She worked quickly and methodically. There was really nothing suspicious about the murder....just who was it that was killed? This John Doe had no ID, nothing. Dental records were trying to be matched. If she could find out who, then the police may be able to find out why he was killed. She was closing the Y-incision when she heard a familiar voice call out, "Lynn.....Suzanna Lynn Howerton."

She turned and nearly didn't believe her eyes. It was her "boss."

"Kathy...what in God's name are you doing here? Am I not doing my job or something?"

The older woman laughed. "Girl, you are fine... can't I just drop by and see how you are doing?"

"Well, since I know the last place you were at was Nevada, and that isn't quite in the neighborhood, no, I don't think that's why you're here. What's up?"

"Are you through for the day?"

"Pretty much."

"Want to go to Crawdad's for a drink?"

Lynn nodded. Evidently Kathy needed to talk. "Sure, let me get cleaned up."

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You want me to quit my job and move to Boston?"

"Let's just say I want you to consider it."

"Lynn took a long pull off of her Guinness. "I don't know, Kath. I've been in North Carolina most of my life."

"Yeah, except for the year they had to drag you kicking and screaming to New York to study and then the six months you spent in Greece getting over things....yeah, you've been here all your life."

Lynn smiled wryly. "I know. It would be hard to leave. But it would be somewhere new....away from everything."

"Look, you're at a point in your life you could do this and enjoy the hell out of it. You have no more strings tying you down here. Mark's in college, he doesn't care where you live now, he's on his own. As long as you've got the seafood chowder in the pot on the stove when he decides to visit, that young man is a happy camper. Give it a shot."

"I don't know....moving is a pain in the ass."

"I'll help you..."

"Are you trying to get rid of me, Kath? Have I done something wrong?"

"Good God, no. As your boss, you could stay until you wanted to retire, and I'd be fine. I can turn around and leave you in the office in Wilmington and know everything will be taken care of. But as your friend, Lynn, that's different. I see you lose a little more of that sparkle you have everyday. There's too many memories for you here and not many of them are good. Boston is a chance to for you to start over. Garrett Macy is a good man. They don't come any finer as bosses or men. He has a top-rated staff and the latest equipment. Stevie absolutely loves it there, despite the cold weather."

"Stevie has Nigel. She'd go anywhere he's at. That girl is crazy in love."

Kathy grinned. "Yeah...that's part of the reason they need you in Boston. Garrett recently lost two ME's due to their relocating. And Stevie's pregnant and due in about three months. She only wants to return to work part time after the baby is born. Garrett needs another ME – preferably one with diving experience."

Lynn sighed. Boston was a harbor town. And she did do underwater retrieval...very well....too well, in her opinion. Her size and stamina made her one of the best in the field, often outmaneuvering men not only in the mere mechanics of the dive, but the brain power behind it. However, it was a part of her work she hoped to eventually put behind her. It didn't seem like that was happening. "Let me think about it."

Kathy shot her a disbelieving look. "How long are you going to think?"

"I don't know...this is kind of sudden. When could I talk to this Garrett character?"

"How about now?"


	2. Dr Lynn

_Little roadside restaurant we artfully complain  
Groovy tells the waitress that his chicken died in vain  
Most every day goes by according to design  
I live this dream but still it seems I have you on my mind_

Garrett squinted as he walked into the bar. _Crawdad's? What kind of name was that for a bar? _He sighed. He guessed he was just too used to Irish names. This was definitely a waterfront bar...fish on the walls, nets hanging from the ceiling. The contrast between the bright daylight outside and the darker atmosphere of the bar made it difficult to see for a minute. Then he spotted Kathy at a corner table, waving him over.

He made his way over to the table, stopping to ask the waitress for a beer. "Hi, Kath," he said, hugging the woman again.

"Found the place just fine, I see," she replied.

"Yeah."

"Garrett, I'd like you to meet one of the best ME's I've ever worked with or had the opportunity to help train – Suzanna Lynn Howerton – but everyone calls her Lynn. You call her Sue or Suzanna and she'll bite your head off."

Garrett shook hands with the blonde woman. "Hi...how are you?"

"I'm fine."

Garrett sat down with the women. The three made small talk for a few minutes – weather, fishing, their flight from Nevada. Finally Garrett cut to the chase. "Kathy tells me that besides being an ME, you also do underwater body retrieval."

"Yes. I have for the past 15 years."

"Dive master?"

Lynn nodded. "But I don't teach diving. I leave that to someone else."

How many UBRs have you done?"

Lynn took another swallow of beer. "Quite a few – last count it was somewhere around 68."

"Conditions?"

"It varies. Sometimes it was a vehicular accident, sometimes it was a boat. Sometimes some poor sucker just decided to go headfirst over the bridge at Morehead. So it depended. As did the weather."

"Your ME record is impeccable."

"Thank you."

"And Kathy tells me you may be interested in relocating to Boston?"

"I might. Depends."

"On what?"

"I'd like to see your set up there before I commit to anything. Then it depends on the pay."

Garrett turned to Kathy. "Could that be arranged? Could you get someone to cover for her while I take her back to Boston for a couple of days?"

Kathy nodded. "Consider it done."

* * *

_Jesus, what a lot to consider_, Lynn thought as she walked the North Carolina coastline. She loved to walk the beach, even in the dead of winter, when she had a lot on her mind or she was working on a particularly difficult case. Walking gave her chance to exercise her frustrations. The ocean gave her perspective. She had done quite a bit of walking on this coastline since she relocated here...how long ago was it? Fifteen years ago? It didn't seem possible. She had spent slightly less than half her lifetime on this coast. She sighed. Uprooting to Boston, if she chose to, would be hard. The people here were like family to her.

She remembered when she had first decided to move to Wilmington. She had been twenty-seven ... fresh out of residency. Kathy had talked her into moving. Bill hadn't really wanted to....but that was a lifetime ago. With the money that they were agreeing to pay her, Mark just a toddler, and another baby on the way, the opportunity had been too good to pass up. So they all had moved.

It had been a good place to live...a good place to raise the children. Mark had excelled in school and in sports. He was now at Duke on an academic scholarship. His life, bless him, had seemed to be charmed. Lynn smiled wryly. That was good. At least one of them had been charmed. She was glad it was her son.

Her career had risen with the tides of the Atlantic. Her reputation as a ME was sterling and she was sure the DA would not be happy to see her go. Added to the fact that she was a diver, she knew they would be hard pressed to replace her. She had never planned on learning to dive at all, but her natural curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had signed up for a day trip with a local scuba shop. Funny how six hours of your time could alter your life and career....she wasn't a tall woman, but was physically fit. Barely tipping out at 5'3" and in a size seven dress, she could get in smaller areas that the male divers could not. Through the years she had built up the stamina that could keep her going dive after dive. The only thing that was bothering her more and more as the years passed was the cold temperatures of the water. But even technology was keeping up with that, designing better and better suits.

But if her career had risen with the waves, her marriage had gone out with them and was cut to pieces by the riptides. After 18 years of marriage, Bill had walked. She should have seen it coming. There were signs....but she chose to ignore them, thinking like so many of her friends, _this can't happen to me_. Well, it did.

The fact that it was with a younger woman hurt most of all.

Bill had blamed it on her, she had blamed it on him, but in the end it didn't really matter. It was over. Eighteen years shot down the tubes and except for Mark, there was really nothing to show for it. She sighed and threw a seashell back into the waves as she turned to walk back up to her home. Maybe it would be a good idea for her to go to Boston. Kathy said that if it didn't work out, she could have her old job back, no questions asked, no loss of benefits. She had her safety net.

Leaving North Carolina...leaving Wilmington...a chance to put all her unhappy memories behind her and really move on with her life. She wouldn't have to keep seeing Bill and his new girlfriend all over town...there would be new challenges, new people. _Maybe even someone for you..._her subconscious inserted in her thoughts. She grimaced. That was a place her mind still couldn't go yet.

A new start, a new beginning...leave the past behind. _Yeah,_ _I can do this,_ she thought, _it's just going to be hard leaving that tiny grave behind at St. Mary's._


	3. Making Boston Home

**Chapter Three**

_From the bottom of my heart_

_Off the coast of Carolina_

_After one or two false starts_

_I believe we found our stride_

_And the walls that won't come down_

_We can decorate or climb or find someway to get around_

'_Cause I'm still on your side_

_From the bottom of my heart._

Everything had moved so fast that Lynn was almost afraid to catch her breath. She had flown out with Garrett to Boston the day after they had met at Crawdad's. She found Boston to be much bigger than Wilmington, of course, but in almost every other sense of the word, it was a familiar harbor town. Bridges, bays, eddies, and inlets...it was all there.

She had like the Massachusetts morgue. She was glad to see Stevie again. "See you've put on a few extra pounds," she had teased the younger woman.

"And I see you still haven't, Lynn," Stevie ribbed right back.

"When are you due?"

"Hmmmm, about the end of May."

"Well, at least you'll have him before the hot summer months," Lynn had replied. Both of her babies had been born in the fall....she carried them through the long, hot, humid summers in North Carolina.

"Lynn...this is sooooo Boston. It never really gets warm...There's only two hot days here. The Fourth of July and the day after."

"Yuck. And you _like_ it here?"

"I have Nigel."

"And he's worth all the cold weather?"

"He keeps my feet warm," Stevie had grinned.

"And evidently other parts, too," Lynn had replied, ducking out of Stevie's office before she could chuck something at her.

Lynn had met Bug and Lily. Lastly, Garrett had introduced her to Jordan. "Nice to meet you," she had said when she met the young brunette.

"Same here," Jordan had replied. Lynn got the impression that the younger doctor was sizing her up...trying to see what she was made of.

After the tour and introductions, she had gone back to Garrett's office to talk with the chief ME. "The job's yours if you want it," he told Lynn.

"Okay. Let's quit beating around the bush. What's in it for me?"

Garrett had chuckled. He already liked the woman. She was knowledgeable, she was a diver, and she could more than hold her own against his tribe of younger ME's. _She'll fit in nicely_, he thought. _And it will give me someone closer to my own age to work with_. He scribbled a figure on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk to Lynn. She eyeballed it for two seconds. "Dr. Macy, you have yourself a new ME," she said, extending her hand.

"Good," he replied. "Welcome to Camp Chaos. And call me Garrett."

Things sped up from there. She had gone back home to Wilmington, submitted her resignation and gave Kathy a call. "I'm going for it," she told her friend.

"I don't think you'll be disappointed."

Lynn was quiet for a moment. "I hope not. I'm sort of looking at this as my last chance at redemption."

"Like I said, I don't think you'll be disappointed," Kathy had replied.

So, her life and belongings were boxed, bagged, tagged and loaded on a U-Haul. She had found a small house to rent close to the beach in Boston. Mark had come home and was going to help his mom drive it to her new home. They pulled Lynn's prized possession, her 1964 red Mustang convertible behind the truck.

Lynn thought telling Mark would be the most difficult thing in the world...that his mom was going to uproot and move to a bigger city up north. He was surprisingly understanding and encouraging. "It's great Mom. A chance to do new things, meet new people...and anywhere you are is home to me, so go for it."

He did raise an interesting point. "You do at least need to tell Dad..." She had dropped her ex a note in the mail to let him know any correspondence or issues should be given to her attorney who knew where she was at.

And when all was loaded, and the truck fueled up, Lynn made one more stop before heading out of town. She walked to St. Mary's, taking the footpath behind the church to a small cemetery. She stood by a small grave, motionless for several minutes, thinking and praying. Then with a brief pat to the headstone, she turned and walked away. She had memories...that should keep her for a while.

* * *

Lynn could you cover for me in autopsy two?" asked Garrett. "I've got to meet the DA about that body found at Logan last week in the employee locker room."

She looked up from her paper work and nodded. "Sure Garret. No problem." As new jobs go, she was settling in pretty easily. And that was a load off her mind. This was the first time she had changed jobs since her residency. Garrett had gone out of his way to make the transition easy for her, monitoring her only for a short while and then turning her loose. She pushed back from her desk and went into the locker room to change. She felt sorry for Garrett. The DA seemed like sort of a bitch...what was her name again? Oh, yeah. Rene' Walcott. She was kind of got the feeling that Garrett and Rene' had been a little more than colleagues at one time or another, but she could be wrong.

She made her way to the autopsy room and began to work on the body. As usual, time stood still for Lynn as she worked. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't even hear Garrett come up behind her. "Hey," he said.

Lynn jumped, startled.

"Too much coffee?" Garrett teased. "You're jumpy."

"No....just didn't hear you come in. You scared me."

Garrett chuckled and pulled down his face mask. "Just wanted to see if you found anything interesting."

"Nah. As autopsies go, this one's pretty cut and dried. Man died of a stroke. His insurance company ordered the autopsy. Hardening of the arteries, heart damage .... All pretty typical stuff."

"Pretty boring?"

Lynn pulled off her face mask and snapped off her gloves. "No...just pretty typical. I don't figure you'll give me a really challenging case until I've proved myself."

"I'll probably have to let you and Jordan draw straws. She likes challenging, too."

"So I've gathered. She's really good."

"Yeah."

"Has she been in Boston her whole life?"

"She bounced around a bit. She's here to stay now. She owns a bar and works here."

Lynn let out a low whistle. "Busy lady."

"Yeah, too busy. Compound that with one Detective Hoyt, and you've got a lady that doesn't know which end of her is up sometimes."

"Detective Hoyt?"

"You probably haven't met him yet. He usually requests Jordan, for obvious reasons. Who have you met?"

"Other than the folks in the morgue, not really anyone. I haven't had time...getting settled and all. And I've been in the office mainly. You haven't released me for field work yet," Lynn said, pointedly.

"I get the hint, Lynn. I'll put you with Jordan next week. I know you were used to working on your own in Wilmington and soon you will here, too. Just need to make sure you know how we work here."

Lynn grinned at him. "I know, boss." She stopped by the ladies' locker room to change out of her scrubs. "Have a good evening, Garrett."

"Wait a minute....are you doing anything tonight?"

"Ummm...grocery shopping and laundry."

"Could I talk you out of that and coming with me to the Pogue?"

"The Pogue?"

"Jordan's bar."

"Sounds like a winner....let me get changed."


	4. Backup Plan

**Chapter Four**

"Does everyone come here after work?" Lynn said to Garrett, loudly. The place was packed.

"Just about," he replied, taking her hand and leading her over to the corner where Woody, Nigel, Stevie, Bug, and Lily were. "It's sort of like a pressure valve release."

Lynn nodded. "I guess every morgue needs a Crawdad's."

Garrett grinned at her. He had always known Lynn was small. That was one of the things that Kathy had pointed out about her that made her such a successful diver. But he hadn't realized she was this small. The top of her head barely came to the top of his shoulder, and his hand swallowed hers. She was more than short...she was petite everywhere. But you'd never know it by her attitude. She'd stand up to anybody. He'd never met anyone with more of a backbone. She made you think she was seven feet tall.

"Hey, Lynn," Jordan said, from behind the bar. "Guinness?"

"Yeah, hit me up, Jo. How's it going, Woody?"

The detective turned his attention away from Jordan for a moment. "Hi. Nice to finally meet you. Stevie says you're another North Carolina transplant."

"For right now...."

"And that you're an experienced UBR?"

"Uh-huh."

"How many retrievals?"

"Upwards of about 68. I've really lost count."

"Make that 115," said Garrett.

Lynn gave him a puzzled look, "How do you know?"

"I read your record. Kept a tally."

"Nothing slides by Garrett," joined in Stevie. "He guessed I was pregnant this time before I knew."

"Gee, Mom, I hope you're not drinking tonight," Lynn teased Stevie.

"Just virgin screwdrivers," replied Nigel.

And so the evening went. Lynn began to feel right at home with the good natured banter between the detectives and the morgue workers...so much like Crawdad's in Wilmington that she felt like she had never left North Carolina. Around midnight the place began to clear out and Jordan rang the bell, signaling it was time for everyone to go home. Lynn made to get her purse and coat, but Garrett stopped her. "That's for everyone else, not us," he explained. "After Jordan closes for the public, we have our own little Friday night tradition."

As soon as everyone else had paid their tab and filed out, Lynn soon found out what the tradition was. Jordan lowered the lights and selections were made on the jukebox. The coins tumbled in the machine and the music began to play. She eagerly scanned the choices...picking out James Tayor's _In My Mind I'm Going to Carolina_. As the familiar song came over the speakers, Garrett held out his hand. "Dance?"

She took his hand and let him lead her out to the floor. Of course Woody and Jordan were dancing, as well as Bug and Lily. Nigel and Stevie were trying. The lanky Brit was having to steer around his wife's expectant belly. Lynn silently pointed that out to Garrett as they made their way around the floor. Garrett chuckled. "I have a feeling their son is going to be big."

"Maybe....maybe not. You always tend to be a little bigger with your second baby," Lynn replied.

Garrett nodded. He really didn't know. Details like that about women escaped him. But he was noticing the details about Lynn...her perfume, the scent of her hair. Almost reflexively, he drew her a little closer. It had been a long time since he had joined the other couples on the dance floor. It felt nice. Oh hell, who was he kidding? Lynn felt nice. Almost reluctantly he let her go at the end of the songs. Everyone said goodnight, and Lynn noticed that Jordan and Woody left together. She let Garrett drive her back to the morgue where she could get her car.

"Which one is it?" he asked, trying to locate her vehicle.

"The one at the far left....at the very end...by itself."

He was about to ask her why did she park so far away from everyone else when he noticed her car...a pristine, 1964 red Mustang convertible. "Dang," was all he could say.

"Meet my midlife crisis. Her name is Myrtle, after the beach. She's cheaper than a man and doesn't give me as many problems," she said, grinning at him.

"That is a great car."

"Thanks. If you're good to me...and let me go out with Jordan next week, and get out of the morgue, I might let you drive it."

"You will definitely be with Jordan next week...and I will take you up on the drive."

He walked her to the car. Suddenly, they were like two awkward teenagers not know exactly how to end a date. Only it wasn't a date ... was it?

"Be careful going home," Garrett said.

"You, too. And thanks for inviting me to come with you. I had a great time."

"I'm glad. It's good to have you here, Lynn."

Lynn thanked him again and got in her car, driving out into the cold Boston night. It wasn't North Carolina, but it was beginning to feel like home.

* * *

"You know, I was really afraid you were going to try to be a mom to everyone," Jordan told Lynn as they got in the morgue van Monday morning to do a pick up.

"Why on earth would anyone think that?" Lynn replied, brushing the blonde bangs out of her eyes. "I am nowhere near old enough to be your mom. My son is 20. Maybe your older sister, but not your mom."

"So you have a son? And does he have a name?"

"Mark. Mark Andrew Howerton. He's a student at Elon University. Accounting major," Lynn replied.

"Oh," said Jordan, as she pulled the van up at the pick up site. "There's Woody."

"Figures," Lynn replied.

Jordan gave her a pointed look.

"He's warm for your form, girl. Everyone knows it. Just give up and go with it. It's not going to do you any good fighting it any longer. Besides, from what Stevie told me about what happened in North Carolina last year, I figured you'd already be living together, married, or something."

"Yeah, well. Easier said than done."

"Sure. Fine. Whatever," Lynn replied. She looked over the body while Jordan quizzed Woody about the crime scene. Lividity was set and liver temp told her that the person had been dead between eight and ten hours. After the cursory field exam, the body was loaded up and driven back to the morgue. Lynn assisted Jordan on the autopsy and trace. She had snapped off her gloves and changed out of her scrubs when Garrett came by her desk.

"Good work, Lynn," he said, leaning over her to look in her eyes.

"Thanks."

"Feel like going out on your own from now on?"

Lynn smiled. "Oh, you sweet talker you. The very words I have been waiting to hear coming out of your mouth..."

Garrett smiled back at her. "Feel like dinner?'

Lynn blinked. "Dinner?"

"Yeah. Great little seafood place a couple of miles from here. Figured you'd be homesick for some chowder by now. Want to go with me?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I would. Let me get my purse." She disappeared into the locker room. Garrett watched her walk away. Lynn had only been there three months, but in some ways it seemed much longer. And now, he wasn't sure what he would do if she decided to go back to North Carolina. She seemed to be adjusting well. If Boston wasn't Wilmington, maybe it could at least be a good backup plan for the lady for some years to come.


	5. Retrieving in the Charles

**Chapter Five**

_I can't see the future but I know it's comin' fast  
It's not that hard to wind up knee deep in the past  
It's come a lot of Mondays  
Since the phone booth that first night  
Through years and miles and tears and smiles  
I want to get it right_

Work continued to push the days ahead into weeks and the weeks into months. Nigel's and Stevie's son was born, all nine pounds, twelve ounces of him. He had Nigel's hair and Stevie's eyes. They named him Jonathan Garrett Townsend, calling him Jon, to avoid confusion. Everyone in the morgue was crazy over the infant. The first time Stevie and Nigel brought the baby by for everyone to see, Lynn was the only one at ease picking him up and feeding him. She handed him off to Jordan, who eagerly took him, but looked really unsure of herself. "Just make sure you hold his head," Lynn told her, watching her younger colleague closely. Then she left Woody and Jordan alone. Nothing like a baby to make you think about the future...or remember wistfully about the past. Lynn thought about Mark for the umpteenth time that day and wondered how he was doing. Her son had promised to come up for her birthday. She was counting the days.

Other than some minor changes in procedures and the folks she was working with, Lynn's days were almost identical to those in Wilmington. She would get up at five, go to the gym, swim two miles, dress and go to work. The swimming was part of her routine to stay in shape for her dives. She hadn't had to use her diving skills in Boston yet, but knew the day would probably come before she wanted it to.

And it did. She was in trace one day with Bug when Garrett came in. "Lynn," he said, his voice holding just a hint of panic. "Car off the bridge at Charles. Divers have recovered two survivors. They want you on the scene."

She nodded. "Bug, I don't think I'll be back in time to help you finish this. Sorry."

"Don't worry," he replied, "It's taken care of."

She ran down the hall to the locker room to change into her bathing suit and sweats, not realizing Garrett was right behind her. "Hey," he shouted at her.

She turned to look at him.

"I'll take you down there. And the PD said they had a boat for you, whatever that means."

"It means I don't have to wear my diving suit down there. I can change on location."

Half an hour later, Lynn was on site, and pulled off her sweats. It was chilly in the boat, with the wind blowing off the Charles. She had observed the other divers and they had marked where the car was. She hurriedly changed into her suit, checked the tanks, pulled them on and her mask. She pushed off the side of the boat before Garrett could say anything to her. Woody walked over to him, "Think she knows what she's up against?" he asked.

"The mud? The poor visibility? Probably. She's studied the bay area and the rivers from the minute we hired her. She's gone on several practice dives."

"But she's never retrieved in the Charles."

"She did in the James in Virginia. And Deep River in North Carolina. But her fresh water retrieval experience is limited. She has many more dives in the ocean."

"You know what Walcott is going to say if Lynn isn't successful. One new ME for the price of two – who can't even do her job. She's a waste, get rid of her."

Garrett rubbed the back of his head. "I know. I just hope she doesn't make it too personal. This was my decision." But Garrett was concerned. Lynn had been down there what seemed to be along time. He checked his watch. She had been under about 45 minutes. Finally, he saw her head bob out of the river. She swam over to the side of the boat. "I've got him...but I need more rope."

Garrett handed her a coil. "You okay?" he asked. Her lips looked blue.

"It's cold down there, but we're about through." She signaled for one of the other divers to stay on the surface, and dove back down.

"How's the car down there?" Woody asked the remaining diver.

"On its roof...she's having to go inside the car to get the body out. It's tight as hell, but she's good. She's got it in the basket, just needs the extra rope to secure it."

Garrett anxiously watched the surface of the river. "She's going to be fine," Woody said.

"I know," he replied, "But this whole thing sets me on edge....what if she gets caught? Hurt?"

"She'll be fine, Garrett," Woody replied, patting him on the back. "See...there she is." Lynn's head again re-emerged from the muddy surface with the basket. She pushed it over to the side of the boat. Woody felt Garrett's shoulders sag in relief. "You going to be this way every time she dives?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Oh, hell. Yes."

"Then you've got it as badly as I do."

Garrett shot the young detective a puzzled look. "What?"

Woody chuckled. "Welcome to my world...trying to have a relationship with an ME who insists on putting herself in dangerous situations."

"Lynn and I are not in a relationship."

"Sure. You've only been at the Pogue together at least three nights a week for the past four months. You've been out to dinner together more times than I remember. And I see how you look at her when she's not looking. It's the same way I look at Jordan."

"I do ....," Garrett paused for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I do. Do you think she notices?"

"Lynn? No. At least not yet. She's too caught up in her work...and maybe her past. And I think she's the type of lady you're just going to have to tell how you feel. I don't think she's the type that catches hints easily."

"Like Jordan?"

"Worse. At least Jordan's gotten to the point she can take a hint."

By this time, Lynn had boarded the boat and was changing out of her suit and back into her sweats. The waters in North Carolina had been cold, but nothing like the Boston waters. She was chilled to the bone and wanted to get back to the morgue and get a hot shower before heading home. Teeth chattering, she pulled on her sweats and joined Garrett and Woody.

"We did it," she said softly.

"Congratulations," Woody said, giving the woman hug. "Was it as bad as you thought it w as going to be?"

"It was muddy and cold. Visibility was poor. The currents were stronger than I remembered." She was shivering. Garrett pulled his jacket off and put it around her. "No..." she protested. "You're going to freeze before we get back."

"Then let's go inside the cabin." Garrett steered her inside and got her a cup of coffee, staying with her until they got back to the dock and then the morgue. Lynn went immediately to the locker room and took a hot shower. Emerging from the locker rooms, she found the office brimming over with excitement. Everyone was hyped up on the morgue's first UBR. She took everything with a grain of salt, brushing off the congratulations and settling down to her desk to do her report. She wanted all of her I's dotted and t's crossed for the DA. She had heard through the grapevine that Walcott was giving Garrett hell, something she didn't appreciate or like to think about it. She had wondered if it was a professional thing or personal agenda and if she had anything to do with it.. She made a mental note to talk with Jordan tomorrow.

"Hey, you going home anytime soon?" a voice from her doorway asked. It was Garrett. He looked tired.

"I will as soon as I get this report filed."

"It can wait until tomorrow, you know."

"Nah. I don't want Walcott to get her panties in knot. I'll finish it and fax it over. It's about done." Lynn filled in a few more lines and rose to go to the fax machine. "You look tired, Garrett. Why don't you call it a day?"

"I am. Just making sure you're okay." He had come up behind her and watched her fax the report.

"I'm fine. I guess it's just me. Or my age. I've been diving for nearly 15 years. Every year, I keep thinking this is the year I'm stopping. Quitting. At least diving for bodies. I'll always dive for pleasure. But with every year that passes, I hate this aspect of my job more and more."

This took Garrett by surprise. Hesitantly, he turned Lynn gently around so he could look in her eyes. Blue eyes. Bigger and bluer than any he'd ever seen. They were truly the window to her mind and emotions. He had notice them turn stormy when she was upset, flash when she was angry, or twinkle when she was joking around. Right now they were just solemn. And honest. "Why?" he asked.

"There's just too many variables. So many unknowns out there...under the water. Sometimes, like tonight, it's easy, even though the space is tight. Early retrievals are always better. But after days, or weeks, when the body has been exposed to the elements out there...the underwater animals, temperatures, currents....it can get gruesome, like something out of a horror movie. Try explaining all of that to a family that wants one last glimpse of their loved one...." Her voice trailed off, and her eyes were staring out in space as if she was remembering far too many bad dives.

He gave her a gentle hug. "Go home. Sleep. Take tomorrow off if you need it."

She smiled up at him and softly touched his cheek with one of her fingers. "Thanks, boss, but I'll be in tomorrow."

* * *

She didn't go home right away. She pointed her Mustang in the direction of the Pogue. Like after most of her dives, she felt the need for a drink. A stiff one. A beer wouldn't do. She needed to have a talk with Johnny Walker. Jordan looked up when she heard the bell jangle over the door.

"Lynn....what'll it be? The usual? Where's Garrett?"

"No. Not tonight. Johnny Walker in black, please. A double. And Garrett is heading home. I'm by myself tonight...I'm not good company."

Jordan looked at her sharply. Lynn had never had more than one beer at anytime she had been there and Garrett had always accompanied her. Wondering what was wrong with her new friend, she cautiously set the glass down in front of Lynn, who promptly tossed half of it back, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Is something the matter, Lynn?"

"Dive." And that was all Jordan got out of her for a quite a few minutes. Woody raised a questioning eye from his place at the bar. Jordan just shook her head. Finally Lynn smiled at the couple. "Sorry. I just need some down time after a dive. It's not a part of my job I particularly enjoy anymore."

Jordan nodded. "I understand. I always hate notifying families. It never gets any easier." And at least things were still okay between Lynn and Garrett. Jordan knew that the chief ME's feelings for the woman were running deep, even though Lynn was oblivious to the fact.

Woody joined the women. "It went well, though."

"It did as dives go. It was quick. Simple. Fairly painless." She held out her glass for another shot of scotch. "Just one more."

Jordan poured her another finger of the liquid. "What's it like diving in the Charles?"

"Cold. Murky. But the currents are killer."

Jordan digested this bit of information. "Do you think it would be possible for someone to survive a jump into the Charles from say, seven to ten stories up from a building?"

Lynn gave her a startled look. "Where's this going, Jordan? Do you have a victim..."

"No," Jordan softly replied. Briefly, she explained to Lynn about her half-brother, James. "We've just never found any sign of him."

"And we've looked. Dragged the river. Looked for days," Woody added.

Lynn sighed. "The Charles has some really strong currents. It would be possible to survive the fall and get swept out. You may yet find his remains, if he didn't make it. But I doubt it. If nothing has been found yet, it's my bet the man survived the plunge and is hiding out somewhere."


	6. Mark Howerton

**Chapter Six**

Lynn looked up from the paperwork she was doing when she heard a disturbance down the hall. She overheard Lily say, "I don't know if you can see her now. Dr. Howerton may be busy."

"But she'll see me," a young man's voice said insistently.

"I don't know. Why don't you give me your name and I'll check with her...." Lily replied.

"No need, Lily. I'll see this young man," Lynn said, laughing. "Hello, son."

Mark went over and grabbed his mother up in a big bear hug. Lynn didn't blame Lily for not seeing the resemblance between herself and her son. Frankly, other than his mother's eyes, Mark was nearly identical to his father in bone structure and facial features. But there any likeness stopped. Mark had hair that fell below his shoulders that he kept pulled back in a pony tail. One ear had three piercings and there were tattoos on both arms. He wore baggy jeans, a black t-shirt, and a leather jacket. Off all the things Mark may look like, an accounting major wasn't one of them. But he was. A Dean's List student, too.

"That's your son?" Lily questioned. Lynn could see the look of astonishment in the grief counselor's eyes.

"Yep. Last time I checked his birth certificate, he was mine," Lynn replied. "Come back to my office."

"Wait a minute, Mom," Mark replied. He held out a dozen yellow roses. "Happy birthday."

Lynn smiled. This was a nice way to ease into her birthday. Her son and her favorite flower – yellow roses. "Thanks, sweetie. Let me find something to put them in."

"I'll find you something," Lily said. "I'll bring it to your office."

Mark stayed three days, giving him and his mom time to catch up on his life and hers. He and Nigel instantly became friends. Lynn was grateful that Boston may give her son enough connections that he would come back frequently to visit. She introduced him to everyone, but for some reason was shy about letting him meet Garrett.

"So who's your boss?" Mark had asked, that afternoon after lunch with Jordan and Woody. She finally introduced the two of them when they returned to the morgue. Mark quickly sized the situation up. "He likes you, Mom."

"Garrett?"

"No, the Easter Bunny....of course, Garrett."

"I don't think so, Mark. We work together. He's my boss."

"And he's a man."

"So?'

Mark laughed. "Mom, have you seen the way he looks at you?"

"I haven't really noticed," said Lynn, trying to be prim and proper around her son.

"Better yet, have you noticed the way you look at him?"

"Mark!"

Her son had laughed at her again. "Mom...I'm going to tell you something you may not be ready to hear. You may have moved to Boston to start over, get some perspective, get away from your past. But I'd bet my last dollar that it will be Garrett that keeps you in Boston."

At the end of his stay, he came to say good bye to her at the morgue before his plane left. He had shook hands with Nigel and Bug, and hugged Jordan. Before he kissed his mom good bye, he stuck his head in Garrett's office. "Dr. Macy?"

"Hi, Mark, what can I do for you?"

"I dropped by to say good bye. Spring break is about over and I have to head back."

Garrett rose from his desk to shake hands with the young man. "Have a safe trip and don't be a stranger. I have a feeling your mom doesn't see you as much she wants to."

"I'll be back this summer for a couple of weeks. Take care of my mom, huh?"

"As much as she will let me."

"She's kind of stubborn about things like that. She's been on her own for a long time...just....keep an eye on her for me, please?"

"Will do. It will be my pleasure."

Mark eyed the chief ME. "You kind of like her, don't you?"

Garrett looked the young man in the face – the boy's eyes were identical to his mother's – blue, open...honest. "I'm not going to lie to you, Mark. I do. She's a wonderful woman."

"I think so, too, but she's my mom. Look, just be careful with her, okay? Does she know how you feel?"

"I don't think so."

"Can I give you some advice about her? She doesn't take hints very easily. You pretty much have to show her outright something or just tell her. And another thing...has she told you much about her past?"

"No...nothing personal, at least."

Mark paused for a moment. "She will...it will come up. When it happens, just let her talk, okay? Bye, Garrett. And thanks for everything." And with that the young man made his way to his mother's office to tell her good bye, leaving Garrett there to plan his next strategy with Lynn and wonder what on earth could have happened to her in North Carolina.

* * *

August. It was now August and Lynn had been in Boston a whole year – 365 days, 52 weeks. In some ways, it didn't seem that long. In other ways, it seemed longer. She had done really good work at the morgue. She had performed several UBRs. She had made friends. She was making a new life for herself.

Garrett had asked her, now that her year "probation" was up, if she was planning to stay or return to North Carolina. She had chuckled at him and said, "Stay, of course." To be honest she hadn't even thought of returning home.

And he had been relieved. In the past year, he had been out with her at least once every week. But they had never progressed passed the friendship stage. Except for an occasional kiss on the cheek or a quick peck on the lips, there had been little physical contact. And to his frustration, he knew as little about her personally has he did before she came. Asking Nigel to run a check was out of the question. He didn't want anyone knowing his feelings for the lady right now. He came close to calling Kathy Leland a couple of times, but didn't want to jeopardize the friendship between the two women. So he did what Mark told him to do...he just waited. But it was difficult. He had a new appreciation for Woody and his patience with Jordan. And he had told the young detective so one night at the Pogue while waiting on Lynn.

"How'd you do it for so long?" he questioned, "Wait for Jordan to come to you?"

Woody had looked over at Jordan, who was settling a man's tab at the register. The couple had come a long way in two years. A ring sparkled on Jordan's left hand. The wedding was set for the following July, on her mother's birthday. "Some things," he had answered, "are just worth _waiting_ for. I learned not to push. As soon as I let Jordan come to me and let her set the pace of how quickly things moved and when she wanted me to know certain things, poof! The wall disappeared and well....you see where we are now. But it was hard. Especially when I knew how much I loved her and how much I had hurt her over that damned envelope incident."

Garrett nodded, listening intently. There was a wall between him and Lynn. She liked him, and he knew that. They respected each other personally and professionally. He knew she was divorced and that it had not been a good marriage. But he didn't know why... and was it her previous marriage that made her keep him at arm's length? He wished he would have asked Mark more when he was in Boston on his summer vacation. Garrett sighed. Time would tell....he was sure....he just hoped it wouldn't take too long.

"Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting. That last autopsy was a.....something," said Lynn, as she claimed the barstool next to Garrett.

"That's okay," Garrett said, gently hugging the woman. "Bug said it might get involved."

"It did. I need to ask Jordan....."

She was interrupted by the ringing of Garrett's cell phone.

"Macy," he said into the receiver. "Uh huh. She's with me. I'll tell her. We'll be there. I'll alert the rest of the staff." His face had blanched white.

"What is it, Garrett?"

"A school bus just went over the bridge in the bay."

This time it was Lynn's turn to go white. She felt like the floor was getting ready to swallow her. "They need me?" she questioned, weakly.

Garrett nodded. Noticing her paleness, he asked, "You up for it?"


	7. School Buses

**Chapter Seven**

_These days I'm up about the time I used to go to bed  
Living large was once the deal, now I watch the stars instead  
They are timeless and predictable unlike most things that I do  
But I tell the wind and my old friend I'm headed home to you_

Lynn retrieved, and retrieved, and retrieved.

Garrett watched her from the boat as time and time again, she would push off the side and descend into the cold waters of the bay and come back with a body basket.

It had been an activity bus for an elementary school – fourth graders on a field trip. Lynn had hurried back to the morgue and got her gear. As soon as they had got to the site, she had sized up the situation, asked the police a few questions, and begin to dive.

Hours passed, she didn't stop. Not to rest, not to eat. Not to warm up. It was like she was on automatic pilot. When the task was finally complete, and everyone – both dead and alive – were accounted for, she returned to the morgue, showered and changed. Garrett had sent her home, telling her she had done enough, the rest of the staff would take care of anything else. She had only nodded and walked out the door.

Garrett hadn't thought about it too much at the time. Children's deaths were the most difficult thing for a morgue staff to deal with. Lynn's reaction wasn't out of the ordinary. She'd need a few days. Then things should get back to normal

Only they didn't.

As the days passed after the accident, Lynn continued to be withdrawn, absent-minded. Her work began to suffer. Not getting any information out of her, Garrett picked up the phone and called Kathy Leland.

"Kath," he had asked over the phone, "We had an accident up here involving the death of school children. A bus went into the bay. Lynn did the retrieval. She hasn't been the same since. Is there something in her background that you or she didn't tell me that I need to know about?"

He heard Kathy take a sharp breath. "She needs to talk to someone, Garrett. Do you still have a state psychologist nearby?"

"Yeah."

"I think I'd make Lynn see him."

"You want to give me some kind of hint about what's going on?"

"Wish I could, but I can't. It needs to come from Lynn. You need to hear it from her."

A few minutes later and after a phone call to Stiles, Garrett strode into Lynn's office and shut the door. "I need to talk to you."

Lynn looked up from her computer. She had been waiting for this, expecting it. "What about?"

"You. You haven't been the same since the bus accident."

She grimaced at the word "accident." How could anyone call the deaths of so many innocents an "accident"? There had to be a better word...but there wasn't. That's what it was – an accident.

"What about it?" she answered harshly ... more harshly than Garrett had ever heard her speak to anyone.

"You're having a hard time processing it. I want you to see Stiles."

"I passed my last psych exam with flying colors, Garrett."

"That was before this."

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"Just what I said, no. I won't see him."

"I can order you to talk to him, Lynn. I can do that as your boss. But as your friend, I think you need to."

"And as your employee, I can quit and go back to North Carolina." And with that she grabbed her purse and strode out of the morgue, nearly running through the doors. He watched her go with a sinking heart and a tight gut. He had a feeling he may have just lost one of the best things that had ever happened to him. And the most difficult part was he didn't know why or how to fix it.

* * *

Lynn drove along the coast for hours, often at a breakneck speed, pushing her Mustang to its limit. She was shaking with fear, anger, hurt..._he doesn't know_, her mind kept telling her. But that did nothing to ease the hurt that she so carefully kept tapped down deep in her life and her heart. Finally, much later that night, she pulled over into a parking lot, and sobbed for what seemed like days. As her mind cleared and the pain eased just a bit, she knew what she had to do. She needed to find Garrett and explain herself. Still shaking, she put her car in gear and drove back over to his house and found herself ringing his doorbell. It was nearly midnight, but the light was on in his living room.

Garrett went to the door expecting the worst. No one rang his doorbell this time of night with good news. His mind flew to his daughter and then to Lynn. He had called her cell phone for what seemed like a hundred times tonight and she didn't answer. He fully expected to see a police officer on his stoop with bad news.

He opened the door and saw Lynn – she looked like she had been to hell and back. Any anger he had towards her melted as he took in her sagging shoulders and tear stained face.

"Hi," she managed weakly. "Can I come in? I believe I owe you an explanation."

He wordlessly held the door open wider and pulled her inside, into his arms and held her tight. "I've been so worried about you." He just held her until she quit shaking. He shut the door and ushered her inside to his couch and poured her a drink. Gratefully she took it and rolled it between her palms before downing half of it. "I'm sorry I went off on you today like that, Garrett. As your employee, it was disrespectful and wrong. As your friend, it was even worse."

She got up off the couch and stood by the fireplace. "I need to tell you a few things, Garrett. Some things that are very personal and things that very few people know about. I don't talk about them much because they're painful. But you need to know. I don't want what happened today to happen between us again.

"You see, you know I have Mark. But three years after I had him, I had a daughter, Lauren. When Lauren was in elementary school, Bill or I always picked her up from school. She wasn't allowed to ride the bus until she was in middle school. But one day, when she was in first grade, she wanted to spend the night with a friend. I told her that I would pick her up from school and take her to Nichole's house. I got tied up in autopsy and called Bill. He was in a meeting and couldn't leave. So he told the school just to let her ride home with Nichole on the bus. The bus went over the bridge at Morehead inlet.

"I was called in to do the retrieving. I didn't think a thing about it, because Bill was supposed to have picked Lauren up. Instead, I ended up retrieving my own daughter's body out of the inlet."

Garrett's eyes widened with horror as Lynn continued her story. He got up from his chair and stood behind her, wanting to put his arms around her, but she wouldn't let him. At least not yet. Choking back her tears, Lynn continued.

"As if that wasn't bad enough, my marriage fell apart. I blamed Bill. He blamed me and my job. In the end, I took Mark and we went to Greece for about six months to give us all some space. When I got back, I found out that Bill had moved in with a friend of mine and was in the process of divorcing me. We tried to work things out....stopped the proceedings....but for the next ten years it was hell. He finally found someone he was happy with – some 28 year-old bimbo, and divorced me about three years ago...." Lynn sighed as her voice trailed off.

"So now I know," said Garrett, gently putting his arms around her from behind.

"Yeah. Yeah, you do. You know why I reacted the way I did today. It just brought back too many memories. Memories that I thought I had at bay....stuffed down....dealing with. But they resurfaced this afternoon." She leaned back against him, enjoying his closeness.....his strength.

"You should have said something. I would have never let you do that dive."

She turned around in his arms and buried her face in his shirt. "It's okay. It's over now. And I hope you know that I'm normally not a bitch."

Garrett chuckled. "I know."


	8. From the Bottom of My Heart

**Chapter Eight**

_From the bottom of my heart  
Off the coast of Carolina  
After one or two false starts  
I believe we found our stride  
And the walls that won't come down  
We can decorate or climb or find some way to get around  
Cause I'm still on your side  
From the bottom of my heart_

The next weeks continued on in the morgue as if nothing had happened. None of the staff had any inkling that Garrett and Lynn had fought, much less made up. No one that is, but Nigel. Garrett had pulled him aside and asked him to find any reports on the death of Lynn's daughter. The ME's eyes had widened and Nigel had swallowed hard, but soon returned with a file folder full of information. Garrett read it piece by piece as he tried to understand her – the woman who was invading his thoughts and sleep at night. He worried about her....by herself, with her memories. On the surface, she seemed to be fine...joking with the other staff, performing her job nearly flawlessly. But on occasion, Garrett would catch her staring off into space and he knew she was remembering...weighing the past. Maybe even contemplating going back home. He finally got up the nerve to call Mark and tell him what had happened. Mark had sighed and told Garrett that while he remembered very little about the accident, he did remember his sister and his parents' reaction to her death. "Things were never the same again," he said. "There was this Lauren-shaped hole in all our lives that couldn't be filled. Dad tried to fill it with other women. Mom tried to fill it with me and work. But that didn't fix the problem. It still hasn't. I think until Mom can finally admit to herself that the accident was just that – _an accident_ – she'll never really be healed. She'll always blame herself."

So Garrett worried about her. Sometimes the dark circles under her eyes told of her sleeplessness. The dedication to her job told of her desperation to try to right some wrongs. He found himself becoming very protective of her, monitoring the calls that would put her out in the field. Jordan had noticed that and asked him why. "She's just been through a lot lately, Jo. I'd do the same for you."

"I know you would. And I know how I'd react. I'd bite your head off. And Lynn will, too. Just as soon as it hits her what you're doing."

"You're not going to tell her, are you?"

"No. But she's going to catch on soon enough. The lady is many things. Stupid is not one of them."

Garrett was just about to answer her when his cell phone rang. "Macy," he barked into the receiver. "Yeah. Where? How deep is it? Do you know how many? Isn't there anyone else....I see." He flipped his phone shut and ground his teeth.

"What's up?' Jordan asked.

"They need Lynn for another retrieval. A van went off the embankment near Logan."

"Any survivors?"

"None that they are aware of." Garrett walked down the hall to Lynn's office. She was busy on the computer, comparing DNA evidence on a case she and Nigel were working on. "What's going on, boss?" she asked without looking up from her computer.

Garrett smiled. "How'd you know it was me?"

Lynn returned his smile. "I just know...what's up?"

He came in and sat down in front of her desk. "Van off the embankment at Logan. It's in the inlet. Feel like diving?"

"Would it matter if I didn't?"

His reply startled Lynn. "Yes, it would. I wouldn't make you do it. I'd come up with some kind of excuse.."

"Garrett, I'm a big girl. I can do this. It's okay. I know I'm going to put this part of my career behind me someday. Today is just not it. You coming with me or staying here?" She rose from her chair to go change.

"I'm coming with you. Meet you at the SUV."

* * *

It was a relatively short dive. There were four retrievals that Lynn handled with her usual finesse and skill. Garrett watched from embankment, his heart in his throat as she maneuvered through poor visibility and tight spaces. He was counting the days until she could put this part of her career behind her, too. When she was finished and the last body was brought up in the basket, she climbed up the embankment and changed in the van back into her sweats. Garrett drove her back to the morgue. She was about to go inside to shower when he stopped her.

"Why don't you come over to my place and have dinner. I'll cook. You can shower and change there."

"But my clothes are back in the locker room."

"I'm sure I have something you can put on. What do you say?"

Lynn thought for a minute. They had had no time alone in weeks, and she still felt a little awkward around Garrett after the bus incident. It would be nice to have him to herself.... "Okay, you're on. I hope you can cook."

Garrett grinned. "And I hope you like Italian."

Back at Garrett's, Lynn showered and changed into a pair of Garret's sweats and a shirt. She was sure she looked like a wreck. She put on what makeup she had in her purse and combed out her shoulder-length hair. Jordan had talked her into letting it grow out from its normal short bob. She pulled it back loosely with clip, and came back down stairs. "Smells good," she said to Garrett, entering the kitchen.

"Well, it's nothing fancy. Just spaghetti and salad."

"That sounds wonderful."

"And you look....." Garrett paused at the sight of her in his pants and shirt.

"Awful?" suggested Lynn.

"Cute. Very cute."

Lynn chuckled at him as she got down the plates and glasses. They ate dinner in companionable silence. Afterwards, Lynn stacked the dishwasher as Garrett put up the leftovers. "Want to watch a movie?" he asked. She nodded. They went back into his living room and he found an old Gary Grant movie they wanted to watch. He stretched out on the couch and pulled her on top of him. For a moment, Lynn was hesitant. They had never been this close. He loosely wrapped his arms around her and began to rub her back. "Relax," he said. "I don't bite...at least very hard."

Lynn smiled up at him. "Bark worse than your bite, huh? I'll remember that." But Garrett simply pulled her back close to him and continued to rub her back. Despite her best efforts, Lynn found herself relaxing to the point she was falling asleep. "I need to go," she told him. "I'm going to fall asleep and not make it."

"And what's so bad about that?" he questioned.

Lynn looked back up at him. He was serious. "Sleep here. Go home tomorrow. You're tired." And to his delight, she snuggled back down on him and did just that. She had missed him and it wasn't until lately she had realized just how much. Soon, her even breathing told him she had done as he suggested. Garrett flicked off the television with the remote and pulled the afghan off the back of the couch. Covering them up with it, he settled down to sleep with Lynn still on top of him. While a bed would be infinitely more comfortable, he knew if he suggested that, she would bolt for home. Let her trust him here with this. They'd work there way up from here.

The next morning Lynn woke up late, finding herself alone on the couch. She panicked for a moment, not realizing where she was at, but then remembered. She looked around for Garrett, but after checking her watch, she realized he was already at work. She was going to have to hustle to make it on time. Pushing herself up off the couch, she made her way to the door when she noticed a note on her purse. "Take the day off. I'll see you later. Garrett." Thankfully, she smiled. She wondered when later would be.

The next morning she arrived at work a little early. "Good to see you back," Jordan said. "Garrett told us you were feeing a little under the weather."

Lynn hated to lie, but it was better right now that no one knew that she spent the night at Garrett's. "Yeah," she relied, "But I'm all better today."

Jordan nodded as she headed off to autopsy. "Good. And there's something on your desk for you."

Lynn went into her office to check it out. She assumed it was the reports she was waiting for on the victims in the van at Logan. Instead, there was a yellow rose on her keyboard. She picked it up and smelled it. Yellow roses. Her favorite. Only Mark knew she like them best...but Mark was up to his armpits in exams at school. He wouldn't have sent her a flower for no reason. Still mulling it over, she found a glass and filled it half full of water and set the flower in it.

She went back to work and steadily plowed through the mountains and myriads of paperwork that accompanied each dive. Around noon, she decided to break for lunch. She needed to get out for a while and run some errands. She went downstairs and walked to her Mustang. Opening the door, she found another yellow rose. Now thoroughly puzzled, she picked it up. No note. No nothing. When she returned from running her errands, she added that rose to the one already in the glass.

And so it continued for several days. She'd find a rose here, in her locker. A rose there, another on her desk. In her purse. Finally, she had had enough. What was he up to? She walked to his office and knocked. "Come in," he said.

"Okay, give it up Macy. What's with the roses?"

Garrett shut his door and walked over to her. For once, he was taller than the woman. He looked down into her eyes. "Roses?" he teased.

"Don't roses me," she began. "I know you sent them, but why? And why yellow?"

"Well, someone very close to you told me that yellow roses were your favorite flower."

"Mark...that little..."

"That young man who cares very much about his mother. He also told me something else about you."

"What?"

"That you don't take hints easily. And if I need you to know something, I have to show you directly. "

Lynn nodded. "I don't. I really..."

She got no further. Garrett pulled her into his arms and kissed her....until she was breathless and clinging to him. "So what does that tell you Dr. Howerton?" he asked when he was finished.

"Garrett....please...I don't think..."

"Don't. Think, that is. Just listen for a moment. Ever since you've come here Lynn, you've fascinated me. You're attitude, your knowledge, just the person you are. It all fascinated me. Unfortunately, it came with a price, too. Worrying about you...when you dove. Would you get caught? Would you be okay? And then finally, I realized the other night, it was all worth it. I'd much rather go through my life with you than without you. As a matter of fact, I don't want to think about you not being here. The other night when I held you all night on the couch, I realized something..."

Lynn didn't want him to stop. Her heart was too full and he was feeling the same things she was about him. "What?" she whispered, not pulling away from him...instead tightening her hold around his neck.

"I love you, Lynn. And I know you can't answer me back just yet on that one. Mark told me that you need to be told directly what was going on....hints, innuendos, don't work too well with you. So I'm telling you now...you've been put on notice. I love you."

Lynn shook her head and pulled him closer to her. "Garret....I don't know what to say. I know I care about you more deeply than anyone I've meet in a long time. I'm not sure I know what love is anymore. But I know I'd like to try...with you. Is that good enough?" she asked, pulling away to look him in the eyes.

He pulled her close again and rested his chin on her head. "It's more than enough, Lynn. Anything else, we can get around, climb over, or whatever. What matters is that we've got each other – after any mistakes we've both made, we now have each other."

"And you love me..."

He pulled away and smiled down at her. "From the bottom of my heart."


End file.
